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BIOL 211 : Ecology

Types of Sources - With Tertiary

  Scholarly Sources Popular Sources
Primary Sources
  • Peer Reviewed
  • Published in a scholarly journal
  • Contains first-hand reports of research presented by the person or team that did the research.
  • We cite these to reference the results and discussion of their research.
  • Not peer-reviewed
  • Published anywhere
  • E.g. Someone doing their own experiment and posting it on their blog
  • E.g. A news organization conducting their own research and releasing their own data visualizer
  • (In the social sciences and humanities, these can be historical documents, art, speeches, etc. But we don't use these in the sciences)
  • We don't cite these because they haven't been peer reviewed.
Secondary Sources
  • Peer reviewed
  • Published in a scholarly journal
  • Draw on other scholarly publications to come up with their own conclusions
  • There are two main types: "Narrative Reviews" and "Systematic Reviews/Meta Analyses"
  • We cite systematic reviews because they mathematically compare studies on the same topic to determine an overall trend
  • Narrative reviews do not systematically compare studies, only mention them, so we generally cite primary-source studies instead of these.
  • Narrative reviews are generally considered "expert opinion", which is weaker evidence than the results of a study.
  • Reports on and draws conclusions from primary scholarly sources.
  • Published anywhere
  • News article, press release, trade publication, blog post, etc.
  • We don't cite these because if they just report on a primary source, we should go to the primary source itself, and if they provide analysis, that analysis hasn't been peer reviewed.
Tertiary Sources
  • Gives an overview of information accumulated from primary and secondary sources                          
  • Does not provide original interpretations or analyses
  • You use these in the beginning of your research process to learn about your topic.
  • You may or may not cite these depending on your audience:
  • Facts that would be common knowledge to your audience don't need to be cited.
  • Gives an overview of information gathered from primary and secondary sources
  • Does not provide original interpretations or analysis
  • Not operated by a scholarly institution or organization.
  • Wikipedia.
  • You won't cite these, but you'll use them in the beginning of your research process to learn about your topic.

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